The UAE engaged in a high-level Thematic Debate of the UN General Assembly focused on Peace and Security, convened by the President of the General Assembly, on 10-11 May. During the two-day event titled “In a World of Risks: A New Commitment for Peace”, high-level representatives of UN Member States discussed how to strengthen the response of the UN system to current and future threats to international peace and security.

Ambassador Lana Nusseibeh, Permanent Representative of the UAE to the United Nations, represented the UAE in the debate and delivered a statement outlining global security challenges and proposing concrete measures to effectively mitigate the threats the international community is facing today.

Conflict and destabilization have caused unprecedented humanitarian crises. “Together, the group of 125 million in need today would comprise the 11th most populous country in the world”, Ambassador Nusseibeh noted, and called for collective actions and a reform of the humanitarian system.

In her statement Ambassador Nusseibeh emphasized the importance of prevention and called for greater cooperation by the international community. She noted that “The gridlocks in the Security Council and the failure of the international community to act collectively have fractured the global order, and non-state as well as state actors have exploited this situation”.

Ambassador Nusseibeh also underlined the importance for the United Nations to closely work with regional organizations and engage communities, in particular women.

She called on the United Nations to ensure the implementation of existing resolutions and agreements, as well as holding “all Member States accountable when they contravene the Charter, fail to respect national sovereignty, engage in foreign occupation, interfere in the internal affairs of other states”.

Ambassador Nusseibeh further stressed the need for UN reform and mentioned that for the UN to work more effectively, its decision-making processes and management structures “need to be more transparent and geographically diverse – to reflect the world as it is today”.

In conclusion, Ambassador Nusseibeh underscored the upcoming selection of the next Secretary-General, and highlighted that “nothing will signify intent for transformational leadership more than the selection of the right candidate for the next Secretary-General”.